Aircraft wings produce aerodynamic lift by creating a pressure distribution over the aerofoil section with a resultant force perpendicular to the flight trajectory. Because the wing is not infinitely long the pressure distributions over the upper and lower surfaces of the wing meet at the wingtip. The result is an intense rotational flow known as a lift-induced wingtip vortex. This vortex is shed from the wingtip and interacts with the airflow over the wing, known as downwash. In doing so the vortex becomes what is termed a wake vortex.
Wake vortices may linger in the air for several minutes before breaking down due to natural instabilities present in rotational flow. Aircraft flying through a wake vortex may experience loss of control or structural failure due to the severe turbulence induced by the vortex. Because the wake vortex is dangerous to other aircraft and because it takes a long time to break down naturally, long distances are required between aircraft approaching an airport, reducing the number of aircraft an airport can accommodate.
This inventions seeks to, at least in part, address these problems.